Hokkaido’s Blue Powder1 min read time

Sweet, it’s that time of year again. Time for me to get the sticks out and head up to the mountains of Hokkaido for some skiing but this weekend I’m heading over to Switzerland. I’m doing the snow dance hoping for some fresh powder. Of course my camera  will be strapped to my jacket in the hope of catching a sunrise like this one taken last year in Hokkaido. This is Mt Yotai. It is right next to Niseko ski resort and I took this picture out the window of the Hilton hotel. A very cool place to stay by the way with a nice Rotembro. The chairlift up to the slopes is 20 meters outside the door of the hotel and you have access to three different resorts all on the same mountain. About the only thing cheap in Japan is ski tickets compared with the rest of the world and Niseko is no exception.

I have skied many places in the world but the snow here in Hokkaido is special. For one you are guaranteed a lot of it. It snowed twenty four hours a day for the first three days we were here. It’s that super light fluffy powder that you feel on your face as your vision goes white with every turn.

If your in the area you have to go through the city of Sapporo where they have an annual snow festival which lasts one week. Here are two of the snow sculptures that were made by the Japanese self defence force. It took them 30 days to create each one.